Egypt's revived nuclear program

Egypt’s Supreme Council for Energy met Sunday for the first time in eighteen years to discuss the alternative energy sources including the nuclear option. Officials cite increased energy consumption and inadequate supply as the impetus for exploring the development of alternative sources. Addressing delegates at the close of his party’s annual conference, President Mubarak said, “the future of energy is a central element in the building of the nation's own future", the Daily Star reported.
Egypt will build a 1,000- megawatt nuclear power plant on the Mediterranean coast at a cost of $1.5 and $2 billion, Hassan Yunes, the Minister of Electricity, told the state owned publication, Al-Ahram.
Egypt is a key regional US ally and is not expected to suffer the same degree of criticism faced by Iran. Egypt, a signatory to the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty, has repeatedly advocated a nuclear free zone in the Middle East.


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